


Bored of Me

by Butsinceimetyou



Series: Cardiff Electric 'Verse [2]
Category: Glee, Halt and Catch Fire
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 12:41:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3692685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butsinceimetyou/pseuds/Butsinceimetyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Halt and Catch Fire AU- inspired by Episode 7, "Giant." <br/>The team is trying to find a designer for the case that will hold the portable computer that they are creating.</p><p>Sebastian as Joe MacMillan and Blaine as Cameron Howe. (Set in 1983)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bored of Me

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone that has not seen the show, here is a small summary to clear some things up that may be confusing:
> 
> Joe MacMillan (Sebastian) is a 35 year old, hard-driving former IBM sales executive who oozes charisma. When he shows up at Cardiff Electric, he essentially bulldozes his way into a senior position on the sales team. Once he has the job, he immediately orchestrates a plan to reverse-engineer his former employer's product and build something better, but his ultimate agenda is unknown. He hires 20 year old, college dropout Cameron Howe (Blaine) to write an operating system from scratch on her own, while she and Joe explore a volatile romance.
> 
> Also, too anyone that hasn't seen the show, I highly suggest checking it out. It's amazing.

“Well, if you knew this guy was locked for a week, why am I just canceling Jacob today? It's awfully abrupt and he's not gonna be thrilled.” Hunter huffed, as he followed Sebastian to his office.

“My guy's temperamental. He's an artist. Despite our back and forth over the phone, I wasn't even sure he would show up.” Sebastian said, glancing back at his boss, “But now that he's here, I know he's a yes.” He told him, before entering his office.

“He say that?” Hunter called out, but Sebastian ignored him, his attention drawn to the young man seated at his desk. Blaine’s feet were up on the desk, as he looked down at the magazine in his hands.

“A bunch of teenagers broke into Los Alamos National Lab's computers. Also into some cancer center and a big bank. Most were DECs running VMS OS. God, cover story and everything. Pretty cool.”

“You stole my car.” Sebastian gritted out, his hands on his hips.

“I stole your keys.” Blaine said, condescendingly, looking up, “The car just turns on when I put them in.” He tossed Sebastian his keys, before rather obviously looking behind the man towering over him. Noticing Blaine’s gaze, Sebastian whipped around, to find a familiar blond, British man, about his own age seated on the sofa.

“Oh, Adam Crawford. It's fantastic to see you. Thank you for making the trip all this way. I can't tell you how exciting this is for us and the project.” He said, somewhat awkwardly, shaking the other man’s hand.

“Right.” Adam said, shortly, “Hello to you, too.” Still seated at Sebastian’s desk, Blaine watches the awkward exchange between the two men, easily noticing that somethings not quite right.

“I'm sorry I'm late.” Sebastian huffs out, “I know I've kept you waiting. I just have a few things to get in order. Would you mind waiting for us in the conference room? I can't wait to see what you've put together.” Sebastian says, leading Adam out of the office.

“Sugar, will you show Mr. Crawford to the conference room?” He asks his secretary, before returning to his office, and closing the door. Turning back to Blaine, who still sits with his feet propped up, Sebastian’s frustration from before returns

“You think, today, maybe we could be adults? Just for a few hours?”

“Uh, yes, sir, Mr. Smythe, sir.” Blaine says sarcastically, sitting up.

“He is one of the top industrial designers in the world. If he makes our case, it puts us on a whole new level.” Sebastian spits out.

“It was a joke, okay? I'm sorry.” Blaine says with a roll of his eyes. He stands and starts to make his way out of the office, “Jesus.” He huffs.

“You knew I had this meeting today!” Sebastian yells to his back as he walks away.

\---

In the conference room, Sebastian and Nick look over Adam’s designs for the case for the portable computer that they are trying to make.

“I'll go first.” Sebastian says, “The contour, the design, the angles, it… wow. All I can say is wow. It's exactly what we wanted.” Sebastian tells Adam, eager to please.

“So glad that I could accommodate.” Adam says, his voice emotionless.

“I think this is something very special.” Sebastian says, still trying.

“Yeah, it's a pretty girl.” Nick, sighs, “C-can I say something? What happened to the specs that you've had for a week?”

“I saw them, but they were too limiting. Moving past the specs gives us an opportunity to make something, something that isn't just a beige rectangle.” Adam replies.

“Okay, those rectangles took months and months of do you think you can just waltz in here and demand that we change everything 'cause you don't like the way that it looks?” Nick says, his voice biting.

“Yes.” Adam says, as though it were obvious.

“Okay…Okay, well, we'll redesign the whole thing to fit the suit.” Nick snapped, his voice rising “I saw that you worked on the Countach and the DeLorean. Let me tell you what I know. Both are in the shop every hundred miles. Nobody gives a damn about what the computer looks like as long as they work.”

“Let me tell you what I know.” Adam began “Your consumers will soon have more than a dozen choices that look identical to what you'd build, so what will capture their attention? A design that they will be magnetically drawn to every single time they move to touch your machine.”

“Sebastian, this design will require another hardware overhaul. I'm talking hundreds of hours. The one place that I'm ahead is heat. If I ditch the sink for this, I run-” Clearing his throat, Sebastian cuts Nick off.

“When we unveil the Contrail and it looks like this, people will be falling over themselves.”

“Wait, the what?” Nick sputters.

“The Contrail. We're calling the computer the Contrail.” Sebastian says hurriedly, “I'm announcing it this week, so don't tell anyone.”

“The Contrail? You're naming it after the exhaust that comes out of the back of a plane?” Nick questions, befuddled.

“It's about soaring, leaving the competition in the dust, which is exactly what this design can accomplish.” Sebastian tries to explain.

“No, Sebastian, contrail _is_ the dust.” Nick snaps back.

“Look, if we continue to put form ahead of function, we're gonna be the ones left behind with everyone laughing at us.” Nick grumbles, standing. “I mean, why don't you just call it call it the Cardiff Giant?” He sneers before leaving the room.

“You assured me that everything was in line and that my time wouldn't be wasted. I don't have time to waste.” Adam says, standing, collecting his bag, and leaving the room. Sebastian becomes frantic, rushing after the other man,

“What is this? I thought this was a done deal. You fly out all this way and now you're leaving? I let another designer go just to take this meeting.” Sebastian tells him.

Adam lets out a huff, waiting for the elevator. Across the hall, Blaine watches as Sebastian and Adam stand by the elevator doors, his curiosity piqued. Adam looks over, and notices his presence.

“What's with the kid?” Adam retorts, gesturing towards Blaine.

 “Is that what this is about?” Sebastian shoots back. The elevator doors open and Adam walks in, with one final word,

“I never should have come.”

The doors close, and Blaine watches as Sebastian rushes back to his office, clearly frazzled.

\---

Blaine kneels on the floor of Sebastian’s apartment, scribbling away on a notepad. Music blasts from his headphones, but not loud enough to keep him from hearing Sebastian enter the apartment and close the door. He pulls off his headphones, but remains turned away from Sebastian who has now made his way to the window.

“I take it you're not going to the photography thing tonight?” He asks.

“No, actually. I came to change because instead I'm joining Hunter Clarington and Jacob Ben Israel at Strokers.  That's a strip club with an _incredible_ name.”

“Beige box it is.” Blaine replies.

“Look, it's not what I want, either. Blame Nick. He blew it up.” Sebastian responds, sighing deeply.

Music continues to play from his headphones, although he had removed them from his head. He writes some more on his notepad, unsure if he should ask Sebastian the question he’s been thinking about all day. The sound of Sebastian leaving the room catches his attention. A few minutes pass, and he stands and follows the older man into his bedroom. Sebastian has since changed from his work suit, into a casual button up and jeans.

“Did you sleep with Adam?... Honestly.” Sebastian turns to Blaine.

“Ten years ago, I was at a conference in Europe. Adam spoke. I was in the audience. He was…” Sebastian sighed, “I wanted to be him. We stayed through the end of the event, traveled around the continent for the next month and then… he left. That's it.” He says with finality, turning away and walking into his closet, pulling out a jacket.

“And yet he was in the office today.” Blaine states.

“He's a brilliant designer. I was willing to put up with him if it meant something great for the work we've done. But I guess he was just stringing me along.” Sebastian says, moving close to Blaine, “I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. That guy just messes me up.” He says softly, as Blaine looks up at him. A beat passes, and Sebastian walks from the room, and then the apartment, leaving behind a very confused Blaine Anderson. Blinking blearily, trying to comprehend what Sebastian had just told him, Blaine returns to the living room, and decides to give Adam’s designs a look for himself.

\---

“Do you have an invite?” The man at the door of the gallery asks.

“Huh? …Yeah.” Blaine retorts, making his way inside. He’s dressed up. Well, dressed up for him. Gone are the torn jeans, oversized sweaters, leather jackets, and combat boots. In their place, he’s wearing a clean white t-shirt, sleek black pants, a red blazer, and black loafers.

“What the hell is this? You skank. You used me for a ride, didn't you?” Tina, with her studded jacket, red lipstick, and black bobbed hair says jokingly from behind. Blaine turns back to her for a moment,

“Huh? Relax, there's free champagne.” He tells her, before walking further into the gallery. As soon as he spots Adam, he books it across the room, determined to talk to the man. He stops at his side, Adam giving him a once over, before both men turn their attention to the photograph of the Texas landscape that hangs before them.

“Bleak.” Blaine says.

“I think the photographer understood very well how empty this place really is.” Adam replied.

“Tell me about it. I'm from here.”

“Mm, my apologies, then,” He says turning to Blaine, “So, what can I do for Mr. Rainbow Brite this evening?” he says, condescendingly, making Blaine rolls his eyes.

“Agree to build our case.” He says simply. Adam chuckles at that,

“How old are you?” He questions, shaking his head at Blaine.

“Old enough to see the difference between a $100,000 car that only a fraction of the population can afford and a utility that every single human being will be interfacing with inside of five years.” Blaine shoots back.

“I can certainly see why Sebastian likes you. Please tell him I said bravo for the very clever second push.” He responds, turning away.

“Sebastian didn't send me,” Blaine confesses, “But I know this is important to him.”

“Important, hmm? What did Sebastian tell you about me?” Adam demanded.

“Look, I know you guys humped all over Europe or whatever.” Blaine says, giving his signature eye roll, “And I don't care.”

“Oh, is that how he put it? Because I seem to remember it fairly differently.” Adam said, bitingly. “Did he tell you I left him?” He asked.

“Yeah, he did.”

“Did he tell you why?” Blaine shook his head, “Because I told him I loved him,” Blaine’s eyes widened at the confession, “and the moment I said it, I knew it was over, so I left the next morning. I tried to spare myself the embarrassment… We did have quite a bit of fun for a while.” Adam said, smiling slightly. “Late nights. Did a lot of stupid things, but in the end, I believe Sebastian just got bored.” His voice turned solemn, “Listen, I know that you think what you have with him is different, but please don't make the mistake of thinking that he won't do the same thing to you eventually.” He ended, looking directly at Blaine, before walking away. Blaine rushed towards the front of the gallery, obviously upset. He spotted Tina at the bar, and grabbed her by the arm,

“Come on, let's go.”

“Wait, I just got this one.” Tina whined, holding a glass of champagne up, and pulling Blaine back to the bar, “Come here, come on. Hey, let's have some champagne. Who's that, an old boyfriend?” She asks him, looking in Adam’s direction.

“Hmm? Yeah.” Blaine lies.

“He looks like a real asshole.” Tina tells him, “What did he say to you?” She asks, noticing how upset her friend is.

“Nothing.” Blaine says quietly, taking a glass and gulping it down.

\---

The meeting at Strokers was a disaster, unsurprisingly. That left Sebastian with no choice, but to try and change Adam’s mind. As soon as he entered the gallery, he spotted the blond man standing in front of a particularly large print of the Texas desert. He made his way to the other man, catching his attention when he spoke up,

“The moment I met you, you know what I longed for? The day when we would get to work together, when we finally had something that would be worthy of you.”

“And that thing is a portable IBM clone?” Adam said with a sigh, “Sebastian, I appreciate the blanket flattery, but it's a little too late, isn't it?” He says, turning away.

“I don't get it.” Sebastian gasps, following close behind, “Why call me? Why come back into my life at all?”

“I remember when Trent said he was leaving New York to come spend a year here. ‘Tour the Great Plains,’ he said. Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas. ‘Photograph the landscape.’ What landscape? I mean, we all thought he'd gone mad. But here I am trying to see what he was talking about, looking at his pictures, and trying to figure out why you moved here.” Adam said.

“I'll tell you why.” Sebastian sputters, “Equal opportunity, a level playing field-”

“Sebastian, please…I already got the hard sell from your wunderkind over there.” Adam says, looking back at the bar where Blaine and Tina are giggling loudly and drinking champagne. “Truly the future generation, Sebastian. He actually reminds me of you at that age.”

“He's light-years ahead of where I was then.” Sebastian snaps, gazing at Blaine for a moment before looking back at Adam, “He is tomorrow, and we're all better off because of it. In the end, it doesn't matter what design we choose because it's what's inside the machine that's brilliant. He did that. Not you, not me.” He backs up, heading towards the exit, turning back for just a moment, “Do the case, don't do the case. I don't care.”

At the bar, having had a bit too much to drink, Blaine falls, taking a glass down with him. Sebastian runs to the younger man, immediately, helping Blaine to his feet, his arms steady around the smaller man’s waist. Blaine looks up at him, his eyes blurred with sadness,

"That guy just messes me up.” He says, parroting Sebastian’s earlier words back to him.

\---

Sebastian, Blaine, and Adam all share a taxi from the gallery. They stop at Adam’s hotel first.

“Thank you.” Adam tells the driver, climbing out of the car. He shuts the door behind him, walking up to the curb.

“I'll be a minute.” Sebastian says quickly, before hopping out of the car, and following Adam. Blaine remains in the taxi, his blood filled with alcohol, his eyes filled with tears, and his head filled with confusion.

“This didn't turn out the way either one of us had hoped.” Sebastian says, calmly.

“I just wanted to see you again, Sebastian. Spend some time with you, really working on something. Then I come to find you're with him.” Adam tells him.

“Yes, I'm with Blaine.” Sebastian replies, “What we had was 10 years ago, Adam. Stop living in the past. Why bother with any of that now?”

“I'm sick.” He says simply. Sebastian gasps. “I just came to say goodbye.” He says with a pained smile. Sebastian stares at him with disbelief, taking his hand.

From the taxi, all Blaine can see is the man he loves holding someone else’s hand, and finally the tears in his eyes fall.

“Aren't you gonna ask?” Adam questions.

“What?” Sebastian says, confused.

If I'm still gonna do the case? I know you, Sebastian. I know you're thinking it. I set it up before I even got on the plane.” Adam tells him, smiling softly.

“I need you to know that the way you felt about me, I wanted to-” Sebastian starts.

“Take care of yourself.” Adam says, before kissing Sebastian on the cheek, and pulling him into a hug.

Blaine looks out the window, once again, and watches the two men. Feeling his heart clench, he turns to the driver.

“Go.” He gasps, tears streaming down his face. The taxi driver starts up the car, and slowly moves to the exit of the hotel. Seeing the taxi leaving, Sebastian pulls away from Adam, and runs after the car. Catching up, he bangs on the trunk, making the taxi driver stop, before hopping in next to Blaine.

“Are you gonna get bored of me?” Blaine gasps out.

“…I don't know.” He says truthfully, before wrapping his arm around Blaine and pulling him close.


End file.
